And while the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial is not the first National Park Service (NPS) site to receive a wave of criticism for its design and inscriptions – the World War II Memorial, the Franklin Delano Memorial, and Vietnam Memorial are all members of this club – it’s one of a small number of the National Mall-Tidal Basin properties to have a dedicated standalone bookstore.

The Lincoln Memorial has a bookstore inside its walls, but it’s small enough to fit in the palm of Lincoln’s hand. The statue of Lincoln, not the actual man.

With that being said, along with the conversations I had on seven different occasions this past week, I wondered why more attention has not been paid to bookstore of the the first National Mall property to be dedicated to an African American. Here’s what I came up with:

Ambiguous Architecture: Perhaps it’s because the building is so nondescript. At first glance, the store’s bland metal exterior makes it look like storage or work space for the Park Service staff dedicated to maintaining the Memorial’s pristine grounds. And while its large windows should make it easy for passersby to see the inside the store, its location always seems to have a sun glare that reflects the outside of the store more so the inside.

Banished Branding: The building lacks actual signage – permanent or temporary – designating it as the official bookstore of the The Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial. Not even one of these saying “Get Ya MLK Jr Books Here”.

When I visited the bookstore on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it was of course crowded and I was overjoyed by the number of adults and children browsing and buying books – here’s a link to the photos I took of the store – but I worried what would be become of the store’s foot traffic after this holiday weekend.

Memorial visitors who miss a chance to join one of the NPS Ranger talks that are started outside the bookstore, might also miss an opportunity to become aware of the store’s existence and actually visit it. Visiting the Memorial is great, but reading and learning about King, and understanding his words and lifestyle is more memorable. More should be done to promote the store.

Signage: Adding a sign or banner that’s either affixed to the building’s roof or side exterior, and clearly identifies it as the Memorial’s bookstore, will give it more prominence. If that’s not possible for logistical or economical reasons, a simple sidewalk sign noting the store’s existence and hours will also increase the store’s visibility. To draw in children and families, add some balloons.

Literary Support: Authors releasing new books that explore the historical contributions of minorities, analyze the teachings of social and civil activists, or promote a free and just society should make the Martin Luther King Jr. National Memorial bookstore a preeminent stop on their tours, talks and book signings.

If you build it, they might come, but any bookstore worth patronizing needs a genuine spotlight shone on its existence – not just the Memorial across the street. The bookstore should serve as complement to the Memorial, not an aside.

Two years today, a 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck the country of Haiti – killing an estimate 220,000 men, women and children, and leaving more than 1.5 million survivors homeless.

My best friend since high school is a native of Haiti. As the crisis communications manager for Sprint, I had to balance the critical role as the spokesperson for the company’s response and aid to the relief efforts, and the role I had lovingly served as Johanne’s friend and always welcomed guest among her mother, brother and other family members.

As news reports and reflections of Haiti’s recovery continue streaming into our culture of 24-hour information, I’m turning over today’s post to Johanne.

Johanne has resided in the U.S. since the age of eight, but has returned to Haiti on a number of occasions. A number of her family members still live in their homeland and the purveyance of Haiti and its rich culture is ever present in her daily life – from the ease as which she speaks Creole to the way she proudly recounts Haiti’s honor as the first independent nation in Latin America and the first black-led republic in the world.

These are Johanne’s words:

Most people watching the devastating aftermath of the earthquake saw a humanitarian issue. Most Haitians watching it saw their past, present and future staring back at them.

The schools we attended as children before our parents sent for us… gone. The churches we gathered at every Sunday to hear the chorus sing beautiful hymns in Latin… gone. The little stand at the corner where people gathered nightly to buy fried plantain and fish… gone. The brightly painted houses, along with the porches that were cooled down with a splash of water every morning, and served as a meeting place for nightly storytelling… all gone. The hope that maybe someday we would have made it in America enough to return and help our country reach its full potential… gone.

What I saw on TV was what a lot of non Haitians associate with the chaos in Haiti – poverty and hunger beyond comprehension, corruption, and just plain helplessness and hopelessness. What I knew is behind all that chaos, poverty, hunger, corruption, helplessness and hopelessness was an unshakable faith, an amazing resolve to survive, and an extraordinary level of pride and dignity.

Pride and dignity at the scene of people digging their family and neighbors out of rubble with their bare hands. Pride and dignity at the thought that somehow after 200 years of surviving hurricanes, storms, coups, occupations and not being acknowledged by neighboring and foreign countries, we still existed.

We were wounded, traumatized, and a bit overwhelmed, but hopeful. Hopeful that we can rebuild our nation, make it through this unspeakable tragedy, and that maybe one day I will get to take my friends to visit the green house that I grew up in and sit on the cooled porch and enjoy some fried plantain and fish while listening to my uncle play his guitar while other tell tales of people and places gone by.

And that maybe we can visit the schools, churches, food stands, roads, and houses that have been rebuilt and will help shape a new generation of resilient, faithful, and proud Haitian boys and girls.

Not sure which joke in the above interview is better – the one about “The Help” or the references to the founding fathers’ penchant for enslaved labor.

Among the cast of late night television show hosts, very, very few include much substance in their daily shtick other than Charlie Rose, Stephen Colbert, and Colbert’s comical kindred spirit, Jon Stewart.

In addition to stalking Amazon.com, GoodReads.com, and my local library for literary recommendations, I have come to rely on Jon Stewart’s consistent guest list of award-winning writers, historians and biographers to keep my handbags well stuffed with new books – despite the expert judgement of Dr. Oz.

This week, Stewart interviewed author Elizabeth Dowling Taylor about her new book – “A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons” – which tells the story of Paul Jennings, a slave of President James Madison who was forced to purchase his own freedom and, as well as the freedom of his children, following the deaths of President Madison and his wife, Dolley Madison.

I had the pleasure of reading Monster (1999), Myers’ New York Times Bestseller, many years ago, but very loosely recall why the book is such a stirring reminder of the hard-scrabble tales I heard daily growing up in New York City. Nevertheless, I know the importance of sharing books like this with young readers.

One of the Christmas presents I recently gave to my SOHO mentee, Makaylah, was a copy of Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye. Makaylah is twelve years old and at the time, I thought mature enough to objectively absorb the story’s controversial themes of racism and sexual abuse.

But upon hearing that her mother was reading the book before Makaylah, I instantly imagined a scenario where I and Morrison’s book would be banned from ever seeing or speaking to Makaylah again.

Three of Myers’ books have been banned in the libraries and school districts of two states due to their profane language and adult content. Similar attempts have been made against The Bluest Eye. Thankfully,all these attempts have failed, and Makaylah’s mother enjoyed and endorsed the book.

Myers has deemed “reading is not optional” as the theme for his two-year term. I look forward to seeing him at the 2012 Library of Congress National Book Festival and using his campaign as a springboard to making reading a new book a constant part of Makaylah’s life.

As I slowly emerged from a “The New York Jets Blew It Again” funk yesterday, HBO (a favorite hub for sports documentaries and programming), brightened my day by airing an extended version of this teaser for “Namath” – an upcoming documentary about the only New York Jets quarterback to lead the team to a Super Bowl win and quite possibly, the greatest Jet to ever play the game.

When the Jets were the HBO “Hard Knocks” team for the show’s 2010 season, Namath stopped by the training camp to lend a helpful ear and some seasoned wisdom to coach Rex Ryan. Although it ultimately lost a chance at the Lombardi trophy, the team gave a really solid season performance and competed in the NFL’s AFC Championship game.

This year was a completely different story. No winning season. No playoff berth. A few are pointing the finger at Santonio. A few more are blaming Mark. Most are blaming Rex.

HBO will air “Namath” on Saturday, January 28 at 8pm ET and like every other loyal, but, dejected Jets fan, anticipating its premiere is probably the only thing that will help me stomach the remainder of the NFL season.

Joe’s a member of the NFL Hall of Fame; a humanitarian; a defender of African Americans during his Crimson Tide days; a pseudo actor slash Broadway star and a snazzy dresser (see the flipped polo shirt collar above). Why is he not a member of the Jets executive team?

He’s probably turned down repeated offers to join the team’s front office. If I were him, I’d probably do the same. His post-NFL life is one to be admired. Why trade the sunny skies and lush fairways of coastal Florida for the frozen turf of New Jersey’s unforgiving Meadowlands?

Despite this, I’ve managed to take a few fairly nice photos this year using borrowed cameras from friends and a few Sprint smartphone devices. Managing public relations for the company allows me to test out new products so I can become proficient enough on their stellar photo and video capabilities and of course, show them off to potential and current Sprint customers.

If you have some great 2011 Washington, D.C. area photos that you think are worthy of the 2012 DCist Exposed Photography Show, I encourage you to submit them today… or next week. The submission deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET on Wednesday, January 11, 2012.

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Truth. Underneath a sometimes snarky personality, I have aspirations of one day becoming an author of children’s and young adult books.

This weekend, I partook in a showing of Charlize Theron’s Young Adult – an ode to the snarkiest, most insecure and disorder laden writer to ever be created for the big screen.

Enjoying the movie and Theron’s writing scenes immensely – albeit its truly sad moments – I wondered if my path to book writing success included a transformation to assholedom, which is the best way to describe the beginning and conclusion of the protagonist’s (aka Mavis Gary’s) tale.